


The Virtues of the Beast

by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling)



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Book: A Horse and His Boy, Conversations, Female Friendship, Fictional Religion & Theology, Friendship, Gen, Horses, Prompt Fic, Religious Discussion, Worldbuilding, discussion of animal sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 21:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17988605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edenfalling/pseuds/Elizabeth%20Culmer
Summary: Aravis and Hwin talk about comparative religion and horses.





	The Virtues of the Beast

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a [Ladies Bingo](https://ladiesbingo.dreamwidth.org) fill for the square: _ship and captain / mount and rider_.

"They say that among the Kutulese, all ships have a spirit bound to them with blood and bone," Aravis remarked to Hwin one brisk spring day as they walked side by side in the high mountain meadows of southern Archenland, looking toward the shimmering haze of the desert and the land they no longer called home. "Horses for warships, oxen for traders, gulls or pelicans for fishers, and so forth. The virtues of the beast are thus imparted to the ship and the captain may call on its strength in need, as well as seek the spirit's guidance through certain rituals."

"That sounds like an uncomfortable sort of magic," Hwin said, "at least for the poor beast in question."

"Sacrifices tend to be so," Aravis agreed. "On the other hand, or hoof, the shipwrights are said to ask the beast before drawing their knives, and a body of wood may long outlive one of flesh. Whether the asking is genuine or a mere tattered formality is a question to which I have not yet found a convincing answer."

Hwin shivered her withers noncommittally. "I expect the latter is more common. I've never met any people, even in Narnia, who weren't tempted toward convenience. And if you don't bother asking, you probably also don't need to bother making sure the sacrifice is worth much. Why waste a trained war mount on a ship when you could slaughter a worn-out plow beast instead? Much less expensive."

Aravis smiled wryly. "True. But attempting to cheat a miracle from the gods is not only disrespectful but dangerous, and war mounts are less use in much of Kutu than in many other places. The Nandrapragam delta and the jungle are bad land for cavalry, though excellent for boats."

"Bree has said much the same," said Hwin, "which makes me wonder why they have enough horses to sacrifice at all. Surely some other beast would make more sense. A great cat of some type, or perhaps an alligator. I remember your father's stable boys and grooms telling many stories about the fierceness of alligators and their penchant for eating Men."

"Ah, but who ever heard of a cat or an alligator that would allow itself to be commanded? And the Kutulese have fought both us and the people of the southern plains often enough to know the worth of horses. I suspect there may also be an attempt to turn our own gods against us, seeing as Sokda's domain includes both horses and the sea. It is difficult to have ties to both sides of a conflict, and I imagine that holds true even for a god."

Hwin flicked her tail in a thoughtful fashion. "Sokda was never _my_ god, but it was... a relief, in a way, to know that my captors thought highly enough of my people to worship a god so closely tied to us. I was still a slave, but at least I knew I wouldn't be thrown away on a whim. That was more security than many of the grooms themselves had."

Aravis rested her hand on Hwin's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Hwin leaned into the contact for a moment. "Well. That's over and done with and we're both free. And if you need to call on my strength or advice, I think it's much more convenient that I'm not stuck in a flimsy bit of wood but have my own four legs and a voice to let you know my own thoughts."

"Just so," Aravis agreed. "And on that note, O my oldest and dearest friend, what would you say to lending me your legs for a time so we might share a gallop up to the pass?"

Hwin turned her head to blow companionably into Aravis's hair. "I say yes."

**Author's Note:**

> Worldbuilding note: in my personal extension of canon, Kutu is the country south of Calormen. Their mutual border has shifted back and forth over the centuries, sometimes as far south as the Nandrapragam itself (at least in the inland reaches) and sometimes up to a hundred miles north of the river.


End file.
